RRI : Tsunami Response

Initially, our tsunami response addressed immediate humanitarian needs in heavily damaged areas in Kalutara and Ampara Districts (west and east coasts respectively). With funding from AFAP, RRI implemented the following activities:

Distributions of mosquito nets, food rations, and water purification units to estimated 500 households.
Donation of 40 water storage tanks in the Kalmunai area.
Establishment of 2 medical centres in Hikkaduwa and Kalmunai to provide free medical care for surrounding camps for 7 months. Approximately, 37,000 patients were treated at these centres.
Provision of temporary shelter and sanitation to 62 families in Galle and Ampara districts.
Evaluation of soil and water contamination and awareness raising of the importance of proper well maintenance.

When the tsunami struck, fresh water sources were contaminated by debris, salt water, sewage, particulate matter and toxins. As a result, tsunami affected communities suffered from chronic water shortages and water-borne diseases.

RRI responded by launching The Fresh Water Project with the overall goal of cleaning and restoring wells in tsunami affected areas from Bentota to Hambantota (southwest coast).

This involved removing debris and raising awareness on the effectiveness of using trees as natural filtration systems. At the closure of this 15 month project in March 2006, 8,750 wells had been rehabilitated benefiting roughly 40,000 tsunami victims. This project was supported by the Norwegian Peoples Aid and Solidar Consortium Tsunami Emergency Relief Program.

Following the emergency phase, tsunami relief efforts concentrated on longer term rehabilitation and reconstruction challenges.

Finding sustainable methods to provide nutritional security to the affected communities became a pressing concern. Traditionally, an important element of food security in many low-income households in Sri Lanka is a self-contained home garden. The tsunami rendered 25,000 homes uninhabitable. However, the number of home gardens destroyed was estimated at 50,000.

Those gardens located closer to the coast lost up to 4 inches of topsoil and those further inland were damaged by the ground water contamination and salt water pooling. As a result, tsunami victims were faced with the additional burden of purchasing food that was once produced in home gardens. To address this problem, RRI launched the Nutritional Security Program.

The primary goal of this project was to initiate home garden restoration for 25,000 households along the southwest coast and to train beneficiaries in fundamental soil restoration techniques.

This initiative, which was completed last year, benefited approximately 2,000 families through home garden restoration along the east coast.

Families received a garden kit that consisted of medicinal and nutritional plants valued by the of the Kalmunai community.

In addition, one of the project’s components was the establishment of the first nursery in the Kalmunai area with a local NGO called the Brotherhood of Charity (BOC). The nursery was designed to be used as an educational nursery for tsunami victims and war orphans staying at the BOC orphanage. The project was aimed specifically at Tamil and Muslim minority groups on the south coast.